Face Of The Day

Ms. Leshko was inspired to carry out her project after spending a year caring for her mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease and is now in a nursing home. She considered documenting the experience through pictures but soon decided against it. “A number of fine-art photographers have gone that route and produced really powerful work,” she said. “It just didn’t feel like the appropriate response for me. I didn’t think my mother could provide consent, and I wanted to be present as her daughter and caregiver.”

Later, Ms. Leshko found her outlet while visiting a relative in New Jersey, where she came across a blind 35-year-old horse named Petey. “I was just completely mesmerized by this animal,” she said. “I spent the afternoon photographing him. When I reviewed my film I began to realize that I had a means of exploring my feelings around aging and my mother’s illness.”

More on the animals she finds here. Watch a moving short film about Leshko's project here.